A man was beaten to death with his own prosthetic leg before his alleged killer went to purchase a milkshake, a court has been told.
Attack and Aftermath
Amputee Dwayne Tuohey, 55, was discovered with severe injuries in the early hours of New Year's Day this year, close to some bins near his flat in Gargrave Court, Burmantofts, West Yorkshire. Scott Silkstone, 51, of no fixed abode, is currently on trial at Leeds Crown Court charged with his murder, which he denies.
Jurors have already heard details of how Silkstone carried out an assault at Dwayne's flat before dragging him into a lift and leaving him half-naked in the street, prior to purchasing a milkshake from a nearby shop. It is alleged that when Silkstone was stopped several streets away shortly afterwards, he was covered in blood. He is said to have told officers: "I'll have more injuries than him."
CCTV Evidence
On Tuesday, prosecutor Michelle Colborne KC guided jurors through several CCTV recordings showing Silkstone before and after the attack on Dwayne, reports Leeds Live. The first footage was captured at 4.01am, showing him entering a lift at Shakespeare Grange before making his way back towards Gargrave Court at 4.20am. She said: "He had no blood on his hands when he left before then heading back to, the prosecution says, the deceased's flat. The prosecution says he is in a heightened state of agitation. He wasn't seen again until 6.30am when he leaves Gargrave Court and walks to Shakespeare Grange. Blood can be seen on his hands and face."
Silkstone is alleged to have travelled to Shakespeare Grange, during which time somebody is known to have dialled a number from Dwayne's phone. That same number had been called on five separate occasions earlier that morning. Silkstone is said to have returned to Gargrave Court shortly before 7am.
Drag and Further Violence
Ms Colborne stated: "He gets out at floor three and goes to floor one in possession of a phone or phones. That is at 6.58am and the next sighting is just an hour later at 8am, when he is captured on CCTV on the first floor, the floor the flat [Dwayne's] was. He was dragging Dwayne Tuohey along the ground and into the lift."
Jurors were presented with footage of the pair inside the lift. Dwayne is shown lying on the floor as Silkstone folds his legs over and stands above him. Ms Colborne said: "The prosecution says that by that footage, the defendant had carried out a determined and brutal attack in the living room, which had involved striking his body with various objects while he was bleeding. The defendant sustained that injury to his hand. You will hear from a forensic scientist tomorrow but I will give you a summary of these findings now. It is important because as you will hear, he dragged Dwayne Tuohey from his flat. He had subjected him to a number of blows with a number of weapons."
Forensic Findings
The court heard that Dwayne was incapable of defending himself or mounting any defence. Jurors were additionally presented with a floor plan and photographs of the living room, which revealed blood spatter and numerous objects, including a shelf, a prosthetic leg, a crutch and a heater stacked together. Ms Colborne stated the objects were covered with Dwayne's blood. She continued regarding the prosthetic leg: "What she [the forensic scientist] can say about that is that it was extremely blood-stained, primarily the cup area of the leg. Runs of blood were visible to her and the leg itself had fingerprint marks in the blood. DNA of both the defendant and complainant were on it. Her theory is that it was handled by the defendant and used to deliver blows."
Gratuitous Violence
Ms Colborne stated Silkstone's conduct after 8am and the alleged assault "demonstrates that although he was injured and incapable of defending himself following the violence in the flat, the defendant treated him with contempt and continued to use gratuitous violence throughout a ten minute period." The court heard that Silkstone was recorded on footage subsequently striking Dwayne on "no fewer than 28 occasions." She continued: "There was a lack of response from Dwayne Tuohey."
